The Federal Election Commission has dismissed a complaint against former Senate candidate Christine O&rsquo;Donnell, but an unrelated FBI probe into the Delaware Republican&rsquo;s campaign spending is ongoing, her lawyer said Thursday.

Cleta Mitchell, a lawyer at Foley &amp; Lardner, said the FEC recently notified O&rsquo;Donnell that it had dismissed a complaint filed by the Delaware Republican Party in September, just before the tea party favorite rocked the party establishment by defeating then-Rep. Mike Castle in the GOP primary. O&rsquo;Donnell lost the general election in November to Democrat Chris Coons.

Mitchell confirmed that an FBI investigation into O&rsquo;Donnell&rsquo;s 2010 run has yet to be concluded. The investigation stems from allegations that O&rsquo;Donnell used campaign finances to pay personal expenses, including rent on her town house.

Mitchell said she was optimistic that the FBI investigation will clear O&rsquo;Donnell. &ldquo;It just takes a while to slog through these complaints,&rdquo; she said.